Pilot signal transmission method, terminal equipment, and network equipment

ABSTRACT

The embodiments of the invention disclose a pilot signal transmission method, terminal equipment, and network equipment. The method comprises: terminal equipment determines, from a plurality of pilot patterns, a first pilot pattern; the terminal equipment determines, according to the first pilot pattern, a time-frequency resource used to transmit a pilot signal; and the terminal equipment transmits or receives, using the time-frequency resource, the pilot signal. In the embodiments of the invention, the pilot signal transmission method, terminal equipment, and network equipment can flexibly adjust pilot density and physical resources, thereby reducing pilot overhead.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The embodiments of the disclosure relate to the field of communications,and particularly relate to a method for transmitting a pilot signal, aterminal device and a network side device.

BACKGROUND

In a 5th-Generation (5G) system, a terminal device needs to support thetransmission under various movement speeds, specifically including ahigh-speed scene up to 350 km/h and a common low-speed scene. When themovement speed of the terminal device is different, the channel changerate is also different. In order to track the change of a channel withina coherence time of the channel, a pilot for signal measurement orsignal demodulation needs a corresponding density to guarantee theaccuracy of channel estimation. For example, during a high-speedmovement, a high pilot density is required to track the change of thechannel; and during a low-speed movement, a low pilot density may beadopted to reduce the overhead. However, the current existing problem isthat in existing technical solutions, the pilot density and a physicalresource cannot flexibly be adjusted so that the high pilot overhead iscaused. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a method to solve thisproblem.

SUMMARY

The embodiments of the disclosure provide a method for transmitting apilot signal, a terminal device and a network side device, which canflexibly adjust the pilot density and a physical resource to reduce thepilot overhead.

In a first aspect, a method for transmitting a pilot signal is provided,which may include the following operations.

A terminal device determines a first pilot pattern from multiple pilotpatterns.

The terminal device determines a time-frequency resource fortransmitting the pilot signal according to the first pilot pattern.

The terminal device sends or receives the pilot signal on thetime-frequency resource.

In the embodiments of the disclosure, the terminal device may determinethe first pilot pattern from the multiple pilot patterns and determinethe time-frequency resource for transmitting the pilot signal accordingto the first pilot pattern, so that the pilot density and the occupiedphysical resource can be adjusted flexibly.

Optionally, the pilot signal may specifically include a reference signaldefined by various Rel versions in an LTE such as a DemodulationReference Signal (DMRS), a Cell-specific Reference Signal (CRS), aChannel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), a PositioningReference Signal (PRS), a Discovery Reference Signal (DRS) or aMultimedia Broadcast multicast service Single FrequencyNetwork-Reference Signal (MBSFN-RS). Optionally, the pilot signal mayalso be a reference signal newly defined in the 5G.

In the embodiments of the disclosure, the pilot patterns indicateResource Elements (REs) occupied for transmitting the pilot signal in acertain time-domain resource area.

Optionally, the multiple pilot patterns may be predetermined in advanceby the terminal device and a network side device, or, may also beindicated to the terminal device by the network side device. Forexample, the network side device may indicate the multiple pilotpatterns to the terminal device via a high-level signaling such as aRadio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, which is not limited hereto.

Optionally, in some possible implementation manners, the method mayfurther include the following operations.

Before the terminal device determines the first pilot pattern from themultiple pilot patterns, the terminal device receives indicationinformation sent by the network device, here, the indication informationis used for indicating the multiple pilot patterns.

Optionally, in some possible implementation manners, the multiple pilotpatterns are provided with different pilot resource densities, where thepilot resource densities include at least one of a time-domain resourcedensity or a frequency-domain resource density.

Herein, the time-domain resource density refers to the number oftime-domain transmission units spaced between adjacent pilot resourcesin a time domain, and the frequency-domain resource density refers tothe number of frequency-domain transmission units spaced betweenadjacent pilot resources in a frequency domain. Each of the time-domaintransmission units is a basic unit of a time-domain physical resourcefor transmitting the signal, and may be a sub-frame, a Transmission TimeInterval (TTI), a time slot, an Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiplexing (OFDM) symbol or an RE, etc. Each of the frequency-domaintransmission units is a basic unit of a frequency-domain physicalresource for transmitting the signal, and may be a sub-carrier, aPhysical Resource Block (PRB) and a sub-band, etc.

Optionally, in some possible implementation manners, the terminal devicedetermines the first pilot pattern from the multiple pilot patterns mayinclude the following operations.

The terminal device determines the first pilot pattern from the multiplepilot patterns according to at least one of: pilot pattern configurationinformation sent by the network side device; information of atransmission mode used for data transmitted on a time-domain resourcesame as a time-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal or on afrequency-domain resource same as a frequency-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal; movement speed estimation valueinformation of the terminal device; or numerology information fortransmitting the pilot signal or for data transmitted on a time-domainresource same as a time-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal oron a frequency-domain resource same as a frequency-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal.

Optionally, in some possible implementation manners, the terminal devicedetermines the first pilot pattern according to a correspondingrelationship between movement speed estimation values and the pilotpatterns. Herein, the corresponding relationship may be predetermined bythe network side device and the terminal device, or is indicated by thenetwork side device.

Optionally, in some possible implementation manners, the terminal devicedetermines the first pilot pattern according to a correspondingrelationship between transmission modes used for the data transmitted ona time-domain resource same as a time-domain resource transmitting thepilot signal or on a frequency-domain resource same as afrequency-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal and the pilotpatterns. Herein, the corresponding relationship may be predetermined bythe network side device and the terminal device, or is indicated by thenetwork side device.

Optionally, in some possible implementation manners, the terminal devicedetermines the first pilot pattern according to a correspondingrelationship between numerologies for transmitting the pilot signal orfor the data transmitted on a time-domain resource same as a time-domainresource transmitting the pilot signal or on a frequency-domain resourcesame as a frequency-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal andthe pilot patterns. Herein, the corresponding relationship may bepredetermined by the network side device and the terminal device, or isindicated by the network side device.

Optionally, in some possible implementation manners, the method mayfurther include the following operations.

The terminal device receives the pilot pattern configurationinformation, which is indicated by first Downlink Control Information(DCI), from the network side device, where the first DCI is used forscheduling the data transmitted on a time-domain resource same as atime-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal or on afrequency-domain resource same as a frequency-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal.

Herein, the terminal device determines the first pilot pattern from themultiple pilot patterns may include: the terminal device determines thefirst pilot pattern from the multiple pilot patterns according to thepilot pattern configuration information indicated by the first DCI.

Optionally, in some possible implementation manners, the method mayfurther include the following operations.

Before the terminal device determines the first pilot pattern from themultiple pilot patterns according to the pilot pattern configurationinformation indicated by the first DCI, the terminal device reports themovement speed estimation value information to the network side device,where the movement speed estimation value information is used by thenetwork side device for determining the pilot pattern configurationinformation.

Optionally, in some possible implementation manners, the numerologyinformation includes at least one of: a sub-carrier spacing, the numberof sub-carriers under a special bandwidth, the number of sub-carriers ina PRB, the length of an OFDM symbol, the number of points of Fouriertransform or inverse Fourier transform for generating an OFDM signal,the number of OFDM symbols in a TTI, the number of TTIs in apredetermined duration or the length of a signal prefix.

Herein, the sub-carrier spacing refers to a frequency spacing betweenadjacent sub-carriers, such as 15 kHz and 60 kHz; the number ofsub-carriers under the special bandwidth may be, for example, the numberof sub-carriers corresponding to each possible system bandwidth; thenumber of sub-carriers in the PRB typically may be, for example, aninteger multiple of 12; the number of OFDM symbols in the TTI typicallymay be, for example, an integer multiple of 14; the number of TTIs in acertain time unit may be the number of TTIs within the 1 ms or 10 ms,and the length of the signal prefix may be, for example, the duration ofa Cyclic Prefix (CP) of a signal, or a normal CP or an extended CP.

Optionally, in some possible implementation manners, the method mayfurther include the following operations.

After the terminal device determines the first pilot pattern from themultiple pilot patterns, the terminal device reports information of thefirst pilot pattern to the network side device.

The terminal device may report the information of the first pilotpattern to the network side device by an uplink control channel, so thatthe network side device can determine a resource position of the pilotsignal and thus perform channel estimation based on the pilot signal.

Optionally, in some possible implementation manners, the multiple pilotpatterns include a zero pilot pattern, and the zero pilot patternindicates that no time-frequency resource is used for transmitting thepilot signal.

For example, when the movement speed of the terminal device is slow, themultiple pilot patterns may include the zero pilot pattern. For example,in four pilot patterns, one OFDM signal is occupied by the pilot pattern2, two OFDM signals are occupied by the pilot pattern 3, three OFDMsignals are occupied by the pilot pattern 4 and no OFDM signal isoccupied by the pilot pattern 1, where the pilot pattern 1 is the zeropilot pattern.

In other words, the multiple pilot patterns at least include one pilotpattern in which a pilot resource is unused. “Pilot Resource Unused”indicates that the pilot signal does not need to be transmitted in acurrent transmission time unit.

In a second aspect, a method for transmitting a pilot signal isprovided, which may include the following operations.

A network side device determines a first pilot pattern from multiplepilot patterns.

The network side device determines a time-frequency resource fortransmitting the pilot signal according to the first pilot pattern.

The network side device sends or receives the pilot signal on thetime-frequency resource.

In the embodiments of the disclosure, the network side device maydetermine the first pilot pattern from the multiple pilot patterns anddetermine the time-frequency resource for transmitting the pilot signalaccording to the first pilot pattern, so that the pilot density and theoccupied physical resource can be adjusted flexibly.

Optionally, the first pilot pattern is used for indicating REs occupiedfor transmitting the pilot signal in a certain time-domain resourcearea.

Optionally, the multiple pilot patterns may be predetermined in advanceby a terminal device and the network side device, or, may also beindicated to the terminal device by the network side device. Forexample, the network side device may indicate the multiple pilotpatterns to the terminal device by a high-level signaling such as an RRCsignaling, which is not limited hereto.

Optionally, in some possible implementation manners, the method mayfurther include the following operations.

Before the network side device determines the first pilot pattern fromthe multiple pilot patterns, the network side device sends indicationinformation to the terminal device, here, the indication information isused for indicating the multiple pilot patterns.

Optionally, in some possible implementation manners, the multiple pilotpatterns are provided with different pilot resource densities, where thepilot resource densities include at least one of a time-domain resourcedensity or a frequency-domain resource density.

Herein, the time-domain resource density refers to the number oftime-domain transmission units spaced between adjacent pilot resourcesin a time domain, and the frequency-domain resource density refers tothe number of frequency-domain transmission units spaced betweenadjacent pilot resources in a frequency domain. Each of the time-domaintransmission units is a basic unit of a time-domain physical resourcefor transmitting the signal, and may be a sub-frame, a TTI, a time slot,an OFDM symbol or an RE, etc. Each of the frequency-domain transmissionunits is a basic unit of a frequency-domain physical resource fortransmitting the signal, and may be a sub-carrier, a PRB and a sub-band,etc.

Optionally, in some possible implementation manners, the network sidedevice determines the first pilot pattern from the multiple pilotpatterns may include the following operations.

The network side device determines the first pilot pattern from themultiple pilot patterns according to at least one of: information of atransmission mode used for data transmitted on a time-domain resourcesame as a time-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal or on afrequency-domain resource same as a frequency-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal; movement speed estimation valueinformation of the terminal device; or numerology information fortransmitting the pilot signal or for data transmitted on a time-domainresource same as a time-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal oron a frequency-domain resource same as a frequency-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal.

Optionally, in some possible implementation manners, the numerologyinformation includes at least one of: a sub-carrier spacing, the numberof sub-carriers under a special bandwidth, the number of sub-carriers ina PRB, the length of an OFDM symbol, the number of points of Fouriertransform or inverse Fourier transform for generating an OFDM signal,the number of OFDM symbols in a TTI, the number of TTIs in apredetermined duration or the length of a signal prefix.

Herein, the sub-carrier spacing refers to a frequency spacing betweenadjacent sub-carriers, such as 15 kHz and 60 kHz; the number ofsub-carriers under the special bandwidth may be, for example, the numberof sub-carriers corresponding to each possible system bandwidth; thenumber of sub-carriers in the PRB typically may be, for example, aninteger multiple of 12; the number of OFDM symbols in the TTI typicallymay be, for example, an integer multiple of 14; the number of TTIs in acertain time unit may be the number of TTIs within the 1 ms or 10 ms,and the length of the signal prefix may be, for example, the duration ofa CP of a signal, or a normal CP or an extended CP.

Optionally, in some possible implementation manners, the method mayfurther include the following operations.

After the network side device determines the first pilot pattern fromthe multiple pilot patterns, the network side device sends to theterminal device pilot pattern configuration information indicated byfirst DCI, where the first DCI is used for scheduling the datatransmitted on the time-domain resource same as the time-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal or on the frequency-domain resource sameas the frequency-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal, and thepilot pattern configuration information is used for indicating the firstpilot pattern.

Optionally, in some possible implementation manners, the method mayfurther include the following operations.

The network side device receives the movement speed estimation valueinformation sent by the terminal device.

Herein, the network side device determines the first pilot pattern fromthe multiple pilot patterns may include: the network side devicedetermines the first pilot pattern from the multiple pilot patternsaccording to the movement speed estimation value information.

Optionally, in some possible implementation manners, the method mayfurther include: the network side device receives information of thefirst pilot pattern reported by the terminal device.

The network side device determines a resource position of the pilotsignal according to the received information of the first pilot patternand thus performs channel estimation based on the pilot signal.

Optionally, in some possible implementation manners, the multiple pilotpatterns include a zero pilot pattern, and the zero pilot patternindicates that no time-frequency resource is used for transmitting thepilot signal.

In other words, the multiple pilot patterns at least include one pilotpattern in which the pilot resource is unused. “Pilot Resource Unused”indicates that the pilot signal does not need to be transmitted in acurrent transmission time unit.

In the embodiments of the disclosure, the pilot patterns indicate REsfor transmitting the pilot signal.

In a third aspect, a terminal device is provided, which is configured toexecute the method in the first aspect or any possible implementationmanner of the first aspect. Specifically, the terminal device includesunits configured to execute the method in the first aspect or anypossible implementation manner of the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, a network side device is provided, which isconfigured to execute the method in the second aspect or any possibleimplementation manner of the second aspect. Specifically, the networkside device includes units configured to execute the method in thesecond aspect or any possible implementation manner of the secondaspect.

In a fifth aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal deviceincludes a processor, a memory and a communication interface. Theprocessor is connected with the memory and the communication interface.The communication interface is configured to communicate with othernetwork elements under a control of the processor. The memory isconfigured to store an instruction that, when executed by the processor,cause the processor to perform the method in the first aspect or anypossible implementation manner of the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, a network side device is provided. The network sidedevice includes a processor, a memory and a communication interface. Theprocessor is connected with the memory and the communication interface.The communication interface is configured to communicate with othernetwork elements under a control of the processor. The memory isconfigured to store an instruction that, when executed by the processor,causes the processor to perform the method in the second aspect or anypossible implementation manner of the second aspect.

In a seventh aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided. Thecomputer readable storage medium stores a program; and the programenables the terminal device to execute any method for transmitting thepilot signal in the first aspect and in various implementation mannersthereof.

In eighth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided. Thecomputer readable storage medium stores a program; and the programenables a network side device to execute any method for transmitting thepilot signal in the second aspect and in various implementation mannersthereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In order to describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of thedisclosure more clearly, a simple introduction on the accompanyingdrawings which are needed in the description of the embodiments is givenbelow. Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the description beloware merely some of the embodiments of the disclosure, based on whichother drawings may be obtained by those of ordinary skill in the artwithout any creative effort.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scene in an embodimentof the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a method for transmitting a pilotsignal according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an example for transmitting a pilotsignal according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another example for transmitting apilot signal according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a still another example fortransmitting a pilot signal according to an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 6 is another schematic flowchart of a method for transmitting apilot signal according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a network side device accordingto an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a structural diagram of a terminal device provided accordingto another embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a structural diagram of a network side device providedaccording to another embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A clear and complete description of the technical solutions in thedisclosure will be given below, in combination with the accompanyingdrawings in the embodiments of the disclosure. Apparently, theembodiments described below are a part, but not all, of the embodimentsof the disclosure. All of the other embodiments, obtained by those ofordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the disclosurewithout any inventive efforts, fall into the protection scope of thedisclosure.

It should be understood that the technical solutions of the disclosuremay be applied in various communications systems, such as a GlobalSystem of Mobile communication (GSM) system, a Code Division MultipleAccess (CDMA) system, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA)system, a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) system, an LTE system, anLTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, an LTE Time Division Duplex(TDD) system, a Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) systemand other existing communication systems, and may be particularlyapplied to a future 5G system.

It should be understood that the network side device in the embodimentsof the disclosure may also be referred to as a network device or a basestation, etc. The base station may be a Base Transceiver Station (BTS)in a GSM or CDMA, may also be a NodeB in a WCDMA, may further be anEvolutional Node B (eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE, or may be a base stationdevice in a future 5G network, all of which are not limited by thedisclosure hereto.

It should be further understood that the terminal device in theembodiments of the disclosure may communicate with one or more corenetworks via a Radio Access Network (RAN). The terminal device may bereferred to as User Equipment (UE), an access terminal, a user unit, auser station, a mobile station, a mobile platform, a remote station, aremote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, awireless communication device and a user proxy or user apparatus. Theterminal device may be a cellular phone, a cordless telephone, a SessionInitiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, aPersonal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device having a wirelesscommunication function, a computing device or other processing devicesconnected to a wireless modulator-demodulator, vehicle-amounted devices,wearable devices, and a terminal device in a future 5G network.

FIG. 1 illustrates a systematic diagram of a scene. It should beunderstood that for the convenience of understanding, the introducedscene in FIG. 1 is for example in the description and is not constitutedas a limit to the disclosure. A terminal device 11, a terminal device12, a terminal device 13 and a base station 21 are illustrated in FIG.1.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the terminal device 11 may communicate withthe base station 21, the terminal device 12 may communicate with thebase station 21 and the terminal device 13 may communicate with the basestation 21. Or the terminal device 12 may also communicate with theterminal device 11. Or as another case, the terminal device 13communicates with the terminal device 12. Herein, no matter whether theterminal device communicates with the base station or the terminaldevice communicates with the terminal device, a time-frequency physicalresource may be determined according to a pilot pattern and thus a pilotsignal is sent or received on the time-frequency physical resource. Thepilot pattern indicates RE(s) occupied for transmitting the pilot signalin a certain time-domain resource area, for example, the RE(s) occupiedby the pilot signal within a resource range of one PRB of one sub-frame.Herein, the “pilot signal” may also be abbreviated as a “pilot”.

However, in an existing pilot transmission technology, the selection ofthe pilot pattern is completely decided based on the network side deviceand the terminal device cannot select the pilot pattern. Additionally,since the 5G system needs to support various speed scenes of theterminal device, and the network side device or the terminal devicecannot adaptively select a time-frequency resource required to transmitthe pilot according to changes of various scenes and also cannotflexibly adjust the pilot density, the terminal device or the networkside device in the disclosure attempts to flexibly adjust the pilotdensity and occupied physical resource according to a change of acurrent channel state or other transmission parameters.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic flowchart of a method 200 fortransmitting a pilot signal according to an embodiment of thedisclosure. The method 200 may be executed by a terminal device. Forexample, the terminal device may be the terminal device 11, the terminaldevice 12 or the terminal device 13 in FIG. 1. As illustrated in FIG. 2,the method 200 may include the following operations.

At S210, a terminal device determines a first pilot pattern frommultiple pilot patterns.

Specifically, the terminal device may select the first pilot patternfrom the multiple pilot patterns.

In this embodiment of the disclosure, the pilot patterns indicate REsoccupied for transmitting the pilot signal in a certain time-domainresource area.

Optionally, the pilot signal may specifically include a reference signaldefined by various Rel versions in an LTE such as a DMRS, a CRS, aCSI-RS, a PRS, a DRS or an MBSFN-RS. Optionally, the pilot signal mayalso be a reference signal newly defined in the 5G.

Optionally, the multiple pilot patterns may be predetermined in advanceby the terminal device and a network side device, or, may also beindicated to the terminal device by a network side device. For example,the network side device may indicate the multiple pilot patterns to theterminal device by a high-level signaling such as an RRC signaling,which is not limited hereto.

Optionally, the multiple pilot patterns may be pilot pattern subsetsdetermined by the terminal device or the network device, that is, theterminal device or the network device may determine the pilot patternsubsets in an appointed pilot pattern set.

It should be understood that the first pilot pattern is a pilot patternsuitable for use by the terminal device, and the term “first” is merelyfor the convenience of description and is not constituted into aspecific limit to the disclosure.

Optionally, before the S210, the method may further include thefollowing operations.

The terminal device receives indication information sent by the networkdevice, here, the indication information is used for indicating themultiple pilot patterns.

In other words, the terminal device may receive the multiple pilotpatterns sent by the network device via the indication information.

At S220, the terminal device determines a time-frequency resource fortransmitting the pilot signal according to the first pilot pattern.

Specifically, the terminal device may determine a time-frequencyphysical resource for transmitting the pilot signal according to thefirst pilot pattern.

At S230, the terminal device sends or receives the pilot signal on thetime-frequency resource.

Specifically, after the determination of the time-frequency physicalresource according to the first pilot pattern, the terminal device maysend an uplink pilot signal on the time-frequency physical resource, ormay also receive a downlink pilot signal on the time-frequency physicalresource.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, the terminal device may determinethe first pilot pattern from the multiple pilot patterns and determinethe time-frequency resource for transmitting the pilot signal accordingto the first pilot pattern, so that the pilot density and the occupiedphysical resource can be adjusted flexibly.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the disclosure, the multiple pilotpatterns are provided with different pilot resource densities, where thepilot resource densities include at least one of a time-domain resourcedensity or a frequency-domain resource density.

Specifically, the time-domain resource density refers to the number oftime-domain transmission units spaced between adjacent pilot resourcesin a time domain, and the frequency-domain resource density refers tothe number of frequency-domain transmission units spaced betweenadjacent pilot resources in a frequency domain. Each of the time-domaintransmission units is a basic unit of a time-domain physical resourcefor transmitting the signal, and may be a sub-frame, a TTI, a time slot,an OFDM symbol or an RE, etc. Each of the frequency-domain transmissionunits is a basic unit of a frequency-domain physical resource fortransmitting the signal, and may be a sub-carrier, a PRB and a sub-band,etc. For example, the numbers of OFDM symbols, which are occupied bypilot resources in different pilot patterns, in a sub-frame aredifferent, or the numbers of sub-frames, which are occupied by the pilotresources in different pilot patterns, in a wireless frame is different.Also for example, the numbers of sub-carriers, which are occupied bypilot resources in different pilot patterns, in a PRB are different, orthe numbers of sub-carriers, which are occupied by pilot resources indifferent pilot patterns, in a sub-band are different, or the numbers ofsub-carriers, which are occupied by pilot resources in different pilotpatterns, in a bandwidth are different.

In this way, concerning the multiple pilot patterns having differentpilot resource densities, the terminal device may select an appropriatepilot pattern for pilot transmission according to an own actualcondition; or the network side device may select an appropriate pilotpattern for the terminal device according to an actual change conditionof a current channel; and therefore, the purpose of flexibly adjustingthe pilot density and the occupied physical resource is achieved.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the S210 may include the followingoperations.

The terminal device determines the first pilot pattern from the multiplepilot patterns according to at least one of: pilot pattern configurationinformation sent by the network side device; information of atransmission mode used for data transmitted on a time-domain resourcesame as a time-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal or on afrequency-domain resource same as a frequency-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal; movement speed estimation valueinformation of the terminal device; or numerology information fortransmitting the pilot signal or for data transmitted on a time-domainresource same as a time-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal oron a frequency-domain resource same as a frequency-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal.

Specifically, the terminal device may take at least one of theaforementioned types of information as a judgment factor and select anappropriate pattern, i.e., the first pilot pattern, from the multiplepilot patterns. In order to understand how the terminal devicedetermines the first pilot pattern according to at least one of theaforementioned types of information more clearly, each of at least oneof the aforementioned types of information will be described below indetail.

Optionally, as an embodiment, for the “pilot pattern configurationinformation sent by the network side device”, specifically, the terminaldevice may receive the pilot pattern configuration information sent bythe network side device and the pilot pattern configuration informationis configuration information indicating the first pilot pattern. Inother words, the network side device may select the appropriate pilotpattern for the terminal device. Herein, the pilot pattern configurationinformation may be indicated by the network side device through ahigh-level signaling, or, may be indicated by the network side devicethrough a DCI signaling.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the method may further include thefollowing operations.

The terminal device receives the pilot pattern configurationinformation, which is indicated by first DCI, from the network sidedevice, where the first DCI is used for scheduling data transmitted on atime-domain resource same as a time-domain resource transmitting thepilot signal or on a frequency-domain resource same as afrequency-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal.

Herein, the terminal device determines the first pilot pattern from themultiple pilot patterns may include: the terminal device determines thefirst pilot pattern from the multiple pilot patterns according to thepilot pattern configuration information indicated by the first DCI.

Specifically, the terminal device may receive the pilot patternconfiguration information, which is indicated by the first DCI, from thenetwork side device, and thus select the first pilot pattern from themultiple pilot patterns according to the pilot pattern configurationinformation indicated by the first DCI. For example, the network sidedevice indicates the pilot pattern used for the terminal device usingtwo bits in the first DCI. Herein, the first DCI is for scheduling datatransmitted on a time-domain resource same as a time-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal or on a frequency-domain resource same asa frequency-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal. The pilotpattern configuration information is a pilot pattern for scheduling datatransmitted on a time-domain resource same as a time-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal or on a frequency-domain resource same asa frequency-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal.

Therefore, the terminal device can determine the first pilot patternaccording to the pilot pattern configuration information and thusflexibly adjust the pilot density and the occupied physical resource.

Optionally, as an embodiment, for the “information of a transmissionmode used for data transmitted on a time-domain resource same as atime-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal or on afrequency-domain resource same as a frequency-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal”, specifically, the terminal device mayselect the first pilot pattern according to the transmission mode usedfor the data transmitted on the time-domain resource same as thetime-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal or on thefrequency-domain resource same as the frequency-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal as well as a corresponding relationshipbetween the transmission mode and the pilot pattern. Herein, the“time-domain resource” may be a transmission time unit such as asub-frame, a time slot, a TTI, an OFDM symbol and a wireless frame, andmay also be a transmission time unit newly defined in the 5G. The“frequency-domain resource” may be a sub-band, a PRB, a carrier or abandwidth, etc.

It is to be noted that the corresponding relationship between thetransmission mode and the pilot pattern may be appointed by the networkside device and the terminal device in advance; or the network sidedevice may directly send indication information to the terminal device,and the indication information is used for indicating correspondingpilot patterns under different transmission modes. For example, thetransmission mode A and the transmission mode B correspond to the pilotpattern 1, and the transmission C corresponds to the pilot pattern 2.

For example, as a typical application, in a high-speed scene, a steadytransmission mode such as an open-loop Multiple-Input Multiple-Output(MIMO) is used by the terminal device and the open-loop transmissionmode corresponds to the pilot pattern 1. In a low-speed scene, atransmission mode with high spectral efficiency such as a closed-loopMIMO is used by the terminal device and the closed-loop transmissionmode corresponds to the pilot pattern 2.

Therefore, the terminal device may determine the first pilot patternaccording to the transmission mode used for the data transmitted on thetime-domain resource same as the time-domain resource transmitting thepilot signal or on the frequency-domain resource same as thefrequency-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal as well as thecorresponding relationship between the transmission mode and the pilotpattern, and thus flexibly adjusts the pilot density and the occupiedphysical resource.

Optionally, as an embodiment, for the “movement speed estimation valueinformation of the terminal device”, specifically, the terminal devicemay select the first pilot pattern according to a current movement speedestimation value as well as a corresponding relationship between themovement speed estimation value and the pilot pattern. During specificimplementation, the terminal device may estimate a movement speed valuebased on the sent pilot signal or data signal to obtain the currentmovement speed estimation value, and then selects the first pilotpattern corresponding to the current movement speed estimation valueaccording to a corresponding relationship between a speed range of themovement speed estimation value and the pilot pattern.

It is to be noted that the corresponding relationship between themovement speed estimation value and the pilot pattern may be appointedby the network side device and the terminal device in advance; or thenetwork side device may directly send indication information to theterminal device, and the indication information is used for indicatingpilot patterns corresponding to different movement speed estimationvalues. For example, the corresponding relationship between the movementspeed range and the pilot pattern may be as illustrated in table 1.

TABLE 1 Corresponding Relationship between Movement Speed Range andPilot Pattern Movement speed Pilot pattern 0-3 km Pilot pattern 1 3-30km Pilot pattern 2 30-120 km Pilot pattern 3 120-350 km Pilot pattern 4greater than 350 km Pilot pattern 5

In the table 1, when the movement speed estimation value of the terminaldevice is within 0-3 km, the corresponding pilot pattern is the pilotpattern 1; when the movement speed estimation value of the terminaldevice is within 3-30 km, the corresponding pilot pattern is the pilotpattern 2; when the movement speed estimation value of the terminaldevice is within 30-120 km, the corresponding pilot pattern is the pilotpattern 3; when the movement speed estimation value of the terminaldevice is within 120-350 km, the corresponding pilot pattern is thepilot pattern 4; and when the movement speed estimation value of theterminal device is greater than 350 km, the corresponding pilot patternis the pilot pattern 5.

In this way, the terminal device may select the first pilot patternaccording to the corresponding relationship between the movement speedestimation value and the pilot pattern under different movement speedscenes and thus flexibly adjusts the pilot density and the occupiedphysical resource.

Optionally, as an embodiment, for the “numerology information fortransmitting the pilot signal or for data transmitted on a time-domainresource same as a time-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal oron a frequency-domain resource same as a frequency-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal”, specifically, the terminal device mayselect the first pilot pattern according to the numerology informationfor transmitting the pilot signal or for data transmitted on atime-domain resource same as a time-domain resource transmitting thepilot signal or on a frequency-domain resource same as afrequency-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal as well asaccording to a corresponding relationship between the numerology and thepilot pattern, or a corresponding relationship between parameters innumerology and the pilot pattern. Herein, the numerology is at least onebasic parameter for determining a time-domain transmission unit and afrequency-domain transmission unit that are used to transmit the signal.

It is to be noted that the corresponding relationship between thenumerology and the pilot pattern or the corresponding relationshipbetween the parameters in the numerology and the pilot pattern may beappointed by the network side device and the terminal device in advance;or the network side device may also directly send indication informationto the terminal device, and the indication information is used forindicating pilot patterns corresponding to different numerologies, orthe indication information is used for indicating pilot patternscorresponding to the parameters in the numerology.

For example, when the parameters in the numerology include a sub-carrierspacing, the corresponding relationship between the sub-carrier spacingand the pilot pattern may be as illustrated in table 2.

TABLE 2 Corresponding Relationship between Sub-carrier Spacing and PilotPattern Sub-carrier spacing Pilot pattern 15 kHz Pilot pattern 1 30 kHzPilot pattern 2 60 kHz Pilot pattern 3 120 kHz  Pilot pattern 4

In the table 2, when the sub-carrier spacing is 15 kHz, thecorresponding pilot pattern is the pilot pattern 1; when the sub-carrierspacing is 30 kHz, the corresponding pilot pattern is the pilot pattern2; when the sub-carrier spacing is 60 kHz, the corresponding pilotpattern is the pilot pattern 3; and when the sub-carrier spacing is 120kHz, the corresponding pilot pattern is the pilot pattern 4.

Optionally, also for example, when the parameters in the numerologyinclude the sub-carrier spacing, the corresponding relationship betweenthe sub-carrier spacing and the pilot pattern may be as illustrated intable 3.

TABLE 3 Corresponding Relationship between Sub-carrier Spacing and PilotPattern Sub-carrier spacing Pilot pattern 15 kHz Pilot pattern 1 Pilotpattern 2 30 kHz Pilot pattern 3 Pilot pattern 4

In the table 3, when the sub-carrier spacing is 15 kHz, thecorresponding pilot pattern subset includes the pilot pattern 1 and thepilot pattern 2; and when the sub-carrier spacing is 30 kHz, thecorresponding pilot pattern subset includes the pilot pattern 3 and thepilot pattern 4.

Herein, the difference between the table 2 and the table 3 lies in thatone sub-carrier spacing in the table 2 corresponds to one pilot patternand one sub-carrier spacing in the table 3 may correspond to multiplepilot patterns. In other words, each sub-carrier spacing in the table 3may correspond to one pilot pattern subset and the pilot pattern subsetincludes multiple pilot patterns.

In this way, the terminal device may determine the first pilot patternaccording to the corresponding relationship between the numerology andthe pilot pattern or according to the corresponding relationship betweenthe parameters in the numerology and the pilot pattern, and thusflexibly adjusts the pilot density and the occupied physical resource.

It should be understood that the corresponding relationships in table 1to table 3 are merely for example in the description and are not limitedto these in fact.

Optionally, as another embodiment, the numerology information includesat least one of: a sub-carrier spacing, the number of sub-carriers undera special bandwidth, the number of sub-carriers in a PRB, the length ofan OFDM symbol, the number of points of Fourier transform or inverseFourier transform for generating an OFDM signal, the number of OFDMsymbols in a TTI, the number of TTIs in a predetermined duration or thelength of a signal prefix.

Herein, the sub-carrier spacing refers to a frequency spacing betweenadjacent sub-carriers, such as 15 kHz and 60 kHz; the number ofsub-carriers under the special bandwidth may be, for example, the numberof sub-carriers corresponding to each possible system bandwidth; thenumber of sub-carriers in the PRB typically may be, for example, aninteger multiple of 12; the number of OFDM symbols in the TTI typicallymay be, for example, an integer multiple of 14; the number of TTIs in acertain time unit may be the number of TTIs within the 1 ms or 10 ms,and the length of the signal prefix may be, for example, the duration ofa CP of a signal, or a normal CP or an extended CP.

To sum up, the terminal device may determine the first pilot patternaccording to at least one of the aforementioned types of information. Itis to be noted that parts of the aforementioned types of information maybe combined in use. For example, the pilot pattern configurationinformation sent by the network side device is combined with themovement speed estimation value information of the terminal device. Theembodiment in which the pilot pattern configuration information is usedin conjunction with the movement speed estimation value information ofthe terminal device will be described below.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the method 200 may further include thefollowing operations.

Before the terminal device determines the first pilot pattern from themultiple pilot patterns according to the pilot pattern configurationinformation indicated by the first DCI, the terminal device reports themovement speed estimation value information to the network side device,where the movement speed estimation value information is used by thenetwork side device for determining the pilot pattern configurationinformation.

Specifically, the terminal device may report the movement speedestimation value of the terminal device itself to the network sidedevice, so that the network side device determines the pilot patternused by the terminal device, according to the movement speed estimationvalue. In other words, the network side device may determine the pilotpattern configuration information according to the movement speedestimation value of the terminal device and indicate the pilot patternconfiguration information to the terminal device by a downlinkinstruction (such as the first DCI). Herein, the terminal device mayquantize the movement speed estimation value and then report thequantized movement speed estimation value to the network side device.

It is to be noted that the network side device may know the transmissionmode information or the numerology information of the terminal device,whereas the movement speed estimation value of the terminal device needsto be reported by the terminal device to the network side device.

Optionally, as an embodiment, after the S210, the method 200 may furtherinclude the following operations.

The terminal device reports information of the first pilot pattern tothe network side device.

Specifically, the terminal device may report the information of thefirst pilot pattern to the network side device by an uplink controlchannel, so that the network side device determines a resource positionof the pilot signal according to the first pilot pattern and thusperforms channel estimation based on the pilot signal.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the multiple pilot patterns include a zeropilot pattern, and the zero pilot pattern indicates that notime-frequency resource is used for transmitting the pilot signal.

Specifically, in this embodiment of the disclosure, the pilot resourcecorresponding to at least one of the multiple pilot patterns is unused,which indicates that the pilot signal does not need to be transmitted inthe current transmission time unit. For example, when the movement speedof the terminal device is slow, the multiple pilot patterns may includethe zero pilot pattern. For example, in four pilot patterns, one OFDMsignal is occupied by the pilot pattern 2, two OFDM signals are occupiedby the pilot pattern 3, three OFDM signals are occupied by the pilotpattern 4 and no OFDM signal is occupied by the pilot pattern 1, wherethe pilot pattern 1 is the zero pilot pattern.

Therefore, according to the method for transmitting the pilot signal inthe embodiment of the disclosure, the terminal device may determine thefirst pilot pattern from the multiple pilot patterns and determine thetime-frequency resource for transmitting the pilot signal according tothe first pilot pattern, so that the pilot density and the occupiedphysical resource can be adjusted flexibly.

In order to facilitate a person skilled in the art to understand thetechnical solutions of the disclosure, the embodiment of the disclosurewill be described below with reference to a DMRS pilot signal and aCSI-RS pilot signal for examples. It should be understood that theembodiment is not constituted as a limit to the disclosure.

For example, for a downlink DMRS, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the methodmay specifically include the following operations.

At S301, a terminal device 30 and a network side device 31 appointmultiple pilot patterns used by the downlink DMRS.

The pilot patterns appointed by the terminal device 30 and the networkside device 31 are the pilot pattern 1, the pilot pattern 2, the pilotpattern 3 and the pilot pattern 4, where there is no pilot RE in thepilot pattern 1, one OFDM symbol is occupied by the pilot signal in thepilot pattern 1, two OFDM symbols are occupied by the pilot signal inthe pilot pattern 2, and three OFDM symbols are occupied by the pilotsignal in the pilot pattern 3. The pilot pattern 1 does not need totransmit the pilot signal.

Optionally, in the S302, the network side device 31 determines a pilotpattern used by the terminal device.

The network side device 31 may select an appropriate DMRS pilot patternfor the terminal device 30 according to a change condition of a currentchannel. For example, when the channel changes quickly, the pilotpattern occupying more OFDM symbols is selected; and when the channelchanges slowly, the pilot pattern occupying less OFDM symbols isselected.

At S303, the terminal device 30 determines a pilot pattern to be used.

Specifically, the terminal device 30 may select an appropriate pilotpattern from the multiple pilot patterns. For example, the pilot patternis determined in combination with information such as a current movementspeed value of the terminal device 30, a transmission mode used for datatransmitted on a time-domain resource same as a time-domain resourcetransmitting the downlink DMRS signal or on a frequency-domain resourcesame as a frequency-domain resource transmitting the downlink DMRSsignal, a numerology for the downlink DMRS signal, and a numerology usedfor the data transmitted on a time-domain resource same as a time-domainresource transmitting the downlink DMRS signal or on a frequency-domainresource same as a frequency-domain resource transmitting the downlinkDMRS signal.

Optionally, in the S304, the network side device 31 sends DCI.

Optionally, the network side device 31 may schedule downlink datatransmission of the terminal device 30 by the DCI. Moreover, the DMRSpilot pattern used by the terminal device 30 is indicated using two bitsin the DCI.

At S305, the terminal device 30 determines a physical resource used bythe downlink DMRS.

The terminal device 30 may determine the physical resource used by thedownlink DMRS according to a pilot pattern selected by the mobile deviceitself. Optionally, when receiving the DCI, the terminal device 30 mayalso determine, according to a DMRS pilot pattern indicated by the DCI,the physical resource used by the downlink DMRS.

At S306, the terminal device 30 transmits the downlink DMRS.

The terminal device 30 receives the downlink DMRS for demodulatingdownlink data on the physical resource so as to perform downlink channelestimation according to the received downlink DMRS and demodulate thedownlink data. Herein, the downlink data and the downlink DMRS signaltransmitted by the network side device 31 to the terminal device 30 arein a same sub-frame.

Therefore, in the embodiment, the terminal device 30 may determine thephysical resource for transmitting the downlink DMRS according to thepilot pattern indicated by the network side device 31 and thus transmitsthe downlink DMRS.

Also for example, for an uplink DMRS, as illustrated in FIG. 4, themethod may specifically include the following operations.

At S401, a terminal device 40 and a network side device 41 appoint apilot pattern set used by the uplink DMRS.

The terminal device 40 and the network side device 41 may appoint thepilot pattern set that may be used by the uplink DMRS, the pilot patternset includes four pilot patterns and the four pilot patterns areprovided with different pilot resource densities.

At S402, the network side device 41 determines a pilot pattern subsetused by the terminal device 40.

The network side device 41 may also determine the pilot pattern subsetused for the terminal device 40 in the pilot pattern set. For example,the pilot pattern subset includes the pilot pattern 2 and the pilotpattern 4. Herein, the network side device 41 may determine the pilotpattern subset according to a change condition of a channel. Forexample, when the channel changes quickly, the pilot pattern occupyingmore OFDM symbols is selected; and when the channel changes slowly, thepilot pattern occupying less OFDM symbols is selected. Also for example,the network side device 41 may adjust the pilot pattern subset accordingto previous channel estimation performance.

At S403, the network side device 41 sends an RRC signaling.

The network side device 41 may notify the terminal device 40 of thedetermined pilot pattern subset by the RRC signaling. During specificimplementation, the network side device 41 may indicate the terminaldevice 40 of a current available pilot pattern subset in the appointedpilot pattern set by way of identifier values (i.e., bitmap), so thatthe terminal device 40 selects the appropriate pilot pattern in thepilot pattern subset.

At S404, the terminal device 40 determines a pilot pattern to be used.

Specifically, the terminal device 40 may select the appropriate pilotpattern from the pilot pattern subset by itself. For example, theterminal device 40 selects the appropriate pilot pattern in combinationwith information such as a current movement speed value, a transmissionmode used for data transmitted on a time-domain resource same as atime-domain resource transmitting the uplink DMRS signal or on afrequency-domain resource same as a frequency-domain resourcetransmitting the uplink DMRS signal, a numerology for the uplink DMRSsignal, and a numerology used for the data transmitted on a time-domainresource same as a time-domain resource transmitting the uplink DMRSsignal or on a frequency-domain resource same as a frequency-domainresource transmitting the uplink DMRS signal. For example, the terminaldevice 40 selects the appropriate pilot pattern according to the currentmovement speed estimation value. When the movement speed estimationvalue is less than the A, the pilot pattern 2 is selected; and when themovement speed estimation value is greater than or equal to the A, thepilot pattern 4 is selected.

Optionally, the terminal device 40 selects the appropriate pilot patternfrom the pilot pattern subset according to the received RRC signaling,where the RRC signaling is used for indicating the pilot pattern subset.

At S405, the terminal device 40 determines a physical resource used bythe uplink DMRS.

The terminal device 40 may determine the physical resource used by theuplink DMRS according to the pilot pattern selected by the terminaldevice itself and then transmits the uplink DMRS on the physicalresource, where the uplink DMRS is used for demodulating uplink data.

At S406, the terminal device 40 transmits the uplink DMRS.

The terminal device 40 transmits the uplink DMRS for demodulating theuplink data on the physical resource. Herein, the downlink data and thedownlink DMRS signal transmitted by the network side device 41 to theterminal device 40 are in a same sub-frame.

At S407, the terminal device 40 sends indication information to thenetwork side device 41, here, the indication information is used forindicating the pilot pattern of the uplink DMRS.

The terminal device 40 selects the pilot pattern of the uplink DMRS fromthe pilot pattern subset by itself and feeds the pilot pattern back tothe network side device 41 along with the uplink data.

At S408, the network side device 41 determines a position of thephysical resource for the uplink DMRS.

The network side device 41 determines a position of a physical resourcecorresponding to the pilot pattern of the uplink DMRS according to theindication information sent by the terminal device 40.

At S409, the network side device 41 receives the uplink DMRS.

Specifically, the network side device 41 receives the uplink DMRS on thephysical resource according to the physical resource determined, andthen performs uplink channel estimation based on the uplink DMRS anddemodulates the uplink data according to a result of the uplink channelestimation.

Therefore, in the embodiment, the terminal device 40 may determine theappropriate pilot pattern from the pilot pattern subset, and determinesthe physical resource for transmitting the uplink DMRS according to thepilot pattern, thus transmitting the uplink DMRS.

Also for example, for a CSI-RS, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the method mayspecifically include the following operations.

At S01, a terminal device 50 and a network side device 51 appoint apilot pattern set for the CSI-RS.

For example, the pilot pattern set includes N pilot patterns.Optionally, the pilot pattern set may be defined in a protocol.

At S502, the terminal device 50 determines a pilot pattern subset fortransmitting the CSI-RS.

Specifically, the terminal device 50 may determine, according to anumerology used at present, a pilot pattern subset corresponding to thenumerology from the N pilot patterns. For example, the pilot patternsubset includes M pilot patterns and the M is smaller than or equal tothe N. Herein, the numerology may be configured to the terminal device50 by the network side device 51 through other signaling.

Optionally, in the S503, the network side device 51 may also determine apilot pattern subset for transmitting the CSI-RS.

At S504, the terminal device 50 determines a pilot pattern used fortransmitting the CSI-RS from the pilot pattern subset of the CSI-RS.

The terminal device 50 may determine the pilot pattern used fortransmitting the CSI-RS according to a corresponding relationshipbetween the numerology and the pilot pattern of the pilot patternsubset. Herein, the corresponding relationship between the numerologyand the pilot pattern may be appointed by the network side device 51 andthe terminal device 50 in advance. For example, the correspondingrelationship is defined in a protocol.

Optionally, in the S505, the network side device 51 may also determinethe pilot pattern for transmitting the CSI-RS.

Optionally, in the S506, the network side device 51 sends an RRCsignaling.

The network side device 51 indicates the terminal device 50 of the pilotpattern used for the CSI-RS by sending the RRC signaling to the terminaldevice 50. Herein, the RRC signaling includes ┌log 2(M)┘ bits, here, ┌ ┘indicates a ceiling operation.

At S507, the terminal device 50 determines a physical resource fortransmitting the CSI-RS according to the pilot pattern for transmittingthe CSI-RS.

The terminal device 50 may determine the physical resource used fortransmitting the CSI-RS according to the pilot pattern, indicated by theRRC signaling, of the CSI-RS. Or the terminal device 50 may determinethe physical resource used for transmitting the CSI-RS according to thepilot pattern selected by the terminal device itself.

At S508, the terminal device 50 receives the CSI-RS on the physicalresource.

The terminal device 50 receives the CSI-RS on the physical resourceaccording to the physical resource determined and performs downlink CSImeasurement based on the received CSI-RS.

Therefore, in the embodiment, the terminal device 50 may determine theappropriate pilot pattern from the pilot pattern subset, and determinesthe physical resource for transmitting the pilot pattern according tothe pilot pattern, thus receiving the downlink CSI-RS.

It should be understood that the schematic diagrams in FIG. 3 to FIG. 5are merely for the convenience of understanding the technical solutionsof the disclosure and are not constituted into the limits to thedisclosure.

It should be understood that in each embodiment of the disclosure,sequence numbers of the foregoing processes do not mean the precedenceof execution sequences. The execution sequences of the processes shouldbe determined according to functions and internal logic of theprocesses, and should not be construed as any limitation on theimplementation processes of the embodiments of the disclosure.

The foregoing describes the method for transmitting the pilot signalaccording to the embodiment of the disclosure from the terminal device.Hereinafter, the method for transmitting the pilot signal according tothe embodiment of the disclosure will be described from the network sidedevice.

FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic flowchart of a method 600 fortransmitting a pilot signal according to an embodiment of thedisclosure. The method 600 is executed by a network side device. Forexample, the network side device may be the base station 21 in FIG. 1.As illustrated in FIG. 6, the method 600 may include the followingoperations.

At S610, a network side device determines a first pilot pattern frommultiple pilot patterns.

At S620, the network side device determines a time-frequency resourcefor transmitting the pilot signal according to the first pilot pattern.

At 630, the network side device sends or receives the pilot signal onthe time-frequency resource.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, the network side device maydetermine the first pilot pattern from the multiple pilot patterns, thendetermine the time-frequency resource for transmitting the pilot signalaccording to the first pilot pattern, and send or receive the pilotsignal on the time-frequency resource, so that the pilot density and theoccupied physical resource can be adjusted flexibly and thus the pilotoverhead is reduced.

For briefness, some terms, concepts or execution actions in the networkside device similar as that in the terminal device will not be repeatedspecifically.

Optionally, the multiple pilot patterns are provided with differentpilot resource densities, where the pilot resource densities include atleast one of a time-domain resource density or a frequency-domainresource density.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the network side device determines thefirst pilot pattern from the multiple pilot patterns may include thefollowing operations.

The network side device determines the first pilot pattern from themultiple pilot patterns according to at least one of: information of atransmission mode used for data transmitted on a time-domain resourcesame as a time-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal or on afrequency-domain resource same as a frequency-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal; movement speed estimation valueinformation of a terminal device; or numerology information fortransmitting the pilot signal or for data transmitted on a time-domainresource same as a time-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal oron a frequency-domain resource same as a frequency-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal.

Optionally, as an embodiment, after the S610, the method 600 may furtherinclude the following operations.

The network side device sends to the terminal device pilot patternconfiguration information indicated by first DCI, where the first DCI isused for scheduling the data transmitted on the time-domain resourcesame as the time-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal or on thefrequency-domain resource same as the frequency-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal, and the pilot pattern configurationinformation is used for indicating the first pilot pattern.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the method 600 may further include thefollowing operations.

The network side device receives the movement speed estimation valueinformation sent by the terminal device.

Herein, the S610 may include the following operations.

The network side device determines the first pilot pattern from themultiple pilot patterns according to the movement speed estimation valueinformation.

Specifically, the network side device may determine the first pilotpattern according to a movement speed estimation value reported by theterminal device.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the method 600 may further include thefollowing operations.

The network side device receives information of the first pilot patternreported by the terminal device.

Specifically, the network side device may determine a resource positionof the pilot signal according to the received information of the firstpilot pattern and thus perform channel estimation based on the pilotsignal.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the multiple pilot patterns include a zeropilot pattern, and the zero pilot pattern indicates that notime-frequency resource is used for transmitting the pilot signal.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the method 600 may further include thefollowing operations.

The network side device sends indication information to the terminaldevice, here, the indication information is used for indicating themultiple pilot patterns.

Optionally, the first pilot pattern indicates RE(s) for transmitting thepilot signal.

Therefore, according to the method for transmitting the pilot signalprovided by this embodiment of the disclosure, the network side devicecan determine the first pilot pattern from the multiple pilot patternsaccording to a channel state or other transmission parameters, so thatthe pilot density and the occupied physical resource are adjustedflexibly.

The method for transmitting the pilot signal according to theembodiments of the disclosure is described above in detail. Hereinafter,the terminal device and the network side device according to theembodiments of the disclosure will be described.

FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a terminal device 700according to an embodiment of the disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 7,the terminal device 700 may include a determination module 710 and atransmission module 720.

The determination module 710 is configured to determine a first pilotpattern from multiple pilot patterns.

The determination module 710 is further configured to determine atime-frequency resource for transmitting the pilot signal according tothe first pilot pattern.

The transmission module 720 is configured to send or receive the pilotsignal on the time-frequency resource determined by the determinationmodule.

In the embodiment of the disclosure, the terminal device may determinethe first pilot pattern from the multiple pilot patterns and determinethe time-frequency resource for transmitting the pilot signal accordingto the first pilot pattern, so that the pilot density and the occupiedphysical resource can be adjusted flexibly.

Optionally, the multiple pilot patterns are provided with differentpilot resource densities, where the pilot resource densities include atleast one of a time-domain resource density or a frequency-domainresource density.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the determination module 710 isspecifically configured to determine the first pilot pattern from themultiple pilot patterns according to at least one: pilot patternconfiguration information sent by a network side device; information ofa transmission mode used for data transmitted on a time-domain resourcesame as a time-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal or on afrequency-domain resource same as a frequency-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal; movement speed estimation valueinformation of the terminal device; or numerology information fortransmitting the pilot signal or for data transmitted on a time-domainresource same as a time-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal oron a frequency-domain resource same as a frequency-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the terminal device may further include areceiving module.

The receiving module is configured to receive the pilot patternconfiguration information, which is indicated by first DCI, from thenetwork side device, where the first DCI is used for scheduling the datatransmitted on the time-domain resource same as the time-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal or on the frequency-domain resource sameas the frequency-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal.

Herein, the determination module 710 is specifically configured todetermine the first pilot pattern from the multiple pilot patternsaccording to the pilot pattern configuration information indicated bythe first DCI.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the transmission module 720 is furtherconfigured to report the movement speed estimation value information tothe network side device, where the movement speed estimation valueinformation is used by the network side device for determining the pilotpattern configuration information.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the numerology information includes atleast one of: a sub-carrier spacing, the number of sub-carriers under aspecial bandwidth, the number of sub-carriers in a PRB, the length of anOFDM symbol, the number of points of Fourier transform or inverseFourier transform for generating an OFDM signal, the number of OFDMsymbols in a TTI, the number of TTIs in a predetermined duration or thelength of a signal prefix.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the transmission module 720 is furtherconfigured to report information of the first pilot pattern to thenetwork side device.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the multiple pilot patterns include a zeropilot pattern, and the zero pilot pattern indicates that notime-frequency resource is used for transmitting the pilot signal.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the transmission module 720 is furtherconfigured to receive indication information sent by the network device,here, the indication information is used for indicating the multiplepilot patterns.

In this embodiment of the disclosure, the pilot patterns indicate REsfor transmitting the pilot signal.

The terminal device 700 according to the embodiment of the disclosuremay execute the method 200 for transmitting the pilot signal accordingto the embodiments of the disclosure and the above and other operationsand/or functions of each module in the terminal device 700 arerespectively intended to implement corresponding processes of theforegoing each method, all of which will not be repeated herein forbriefness.

Therefore, the terminal device in the embodiment of the disclosure maydetermine the first pilot pattern from the multiple pilot patterns anddetermine the time-frequency resource for transmitting the pilot signalaccording to the first pilot pattern, so that the pilot density and theoccupied physical resource can be adjusted flexibly.

The terminal device according to the embodiments of the disclosure isdescribed above in combination with FIG. 7. Hereinafter, the networkside device according to the embodiments of the disclosure will bedescribed in combination with FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a network side device800 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. As illustrated in FIG.8, the network side device 800 may include a determination module 810and a transmission module 820.

The determination module 810 is configured to determine a first pilotpattern from multiple pilot patterns.

The determination module 810 is further configured to determine atime-frequency resource for transmitting the pilot signal according tothe first pilot pattern.

The transmission module 820 is configured to send or receive the pilotsignal on the time-frequency resource.

In this embodiment of the disclosure, the network side device maydetermine the first pilot pattern from the multiple pilot patterns anddetermine the time-frequency resource for transmitting the pilot signalaccording to the first pilot pattern, so that the pilot density and theoccupied physical resource can be adjusted flexibly.

Optionally, the multiple pilot patterns are provided with differentpilot resource densities, where the pilot resource densities include atleast one of a time-domain resource density or a frequency-domainresource density.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the determination module 810 isspecifically configured to determine the first pilot pattern from themultiple pilot patterns according to at least one of: information of atransmission mode used for data transmitted on a time-domain resourcesame as a time-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal or on afrequency-domain resource same as a frequency-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal; movement speed estimation valueinformation of a terminal device; or numerology information fortransmitting the pilot signal or for data transmitted on a time-domainresource same as a time-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal oron a frequency-domain resource same as a frequency-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the transmission module 820 is furtherconfigured to send to the terminal device pilot pattern configurationinformation indicated by first DCI, where the first DCI is used forscheduling the data transmitted on the time-domain resource same as thetime-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal or on thefrequency-domain resource same as the frequency-domain resourcetransmitting the pilot signal, and the pilot pattern configurationinformation is used for indicating the first pilot pattern.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the transmission module 820 is furtherconfigured to receive the movement speed estimation value informationsent by the terminal device.

The determination module 810 is configured to determine the first pilotpattern from the multiple pilot patterns according to the movement speedestimation value information.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the transmission module 820 is furtherconfigured to enable the network side device to receive information ofthe first pilot pattern reported by the terminal device.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the multiple pilot patterns include a zeropilot pattern, and the zero pilot pattern indicates that notime-frequency resource is used for transmitting the pilot signal.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the transmission module 820 is furtherconfigured to send indication information to the terminal device, here,the indication information is used for indicating the multiple pilotpatterns.

Optionally, the first pilot pattern indicates RE(s) for transmitting thepilot signal.

The network side device 800 according to the embodiment of thedisclosure may execute the method 600 for transmitting the pilot signalaccording to the embodiments of the disclosure and the above and otheroperations and/or functions of each module in the network side device800 are respectively intended to implement corresponding processes ofthe foregoing each method, all of which will not be repeated herein forbriefness.

Therefore, in the embodiment of the disclosure, the network side devicemay determine the first pilot pattern from the multiple pilot patternsand determine the time-frequency resource for transmitting the pilotsignal according to the first pilot pattern, so that the pilot densityand the occupied physical resource can be adjusted flexibly.

FIG. 9 illustrates a structural diagram of a terminal device provided bya still another embodiment of the disclosure. The terminal deviceincludes at least one processor 902 (such as a CPU), at least onenetwork interface 905 or other communication interfaces, a memory 906and at least one communication bus 903 for implementing connectioncommunication among these units. The processor 902 is configured toexecute an executable module stored in the memory 906, such as acomputer program. The memory 906 may include a high-speed Random AccessMemory (RAM) and may further include a non-volatile memory such as atleast one disk memory. The communication connection with at least one ofother network elements is implemented via the at least one networkinterface 905 (it may be wired or wireless).

In some implementation manners, the memory 906 stores a program 9061;the processor 902 executes the program 9061 and is configured to executethe method of the terminal device side for transmitting the pilot signalaccording to the above embodiments of the disclosure, which will not berepeated herein for briefness.

FIG. 10 illustrates a structure diagram of a network side deviceprovided by a still another embodiment of the disclosure. The networkside device includes at least one processor 1002 (such as a CPU), atleast one network interface 1005 or other communication interfaces, amemory 1006 and at least one communication bus 1003 for implementingconnection communication among these units. The processor 1002 isconfigured to execute an executable module stored in the memory 1006,such as a computer program. The memory 1006 may include a high-speedRandom Access Memory (RAM) and may further include a non-volatile memorysuch as at least one disk memory. The communication connection with atleast one of other network elements is implemented via the at least onenetwork interface 1005 (it may be wired or wireless).

In some implementation manners, the memory 1006 stores a program 10061;the processor 1002 executes the program 10061 and is configured toexecute the method of the network device side for transmitting the pilotsignal according to the above embodiments of the disclosure, which willnot be repeated herein for briefness.

It should be understood that the term “and/or” in the disclosuredescribes only an association relationship for describing associatedobjects and represents that three relationships may exist. For example,A and/or B may represent the following three cases: Only A exists, bothA and B exist, and only B exists. In addition, the character “/” in thedisclosure generally indicates an “or” relationship between theassociated objects.

It should be understood that in each embodiment of the disclosure,sequence numbers of the foregoing processes do not mean executionsequences in various embodiments of the disclosure. The executionsequences of the processes should be determined according to functionsand internal logic of the processes, and should not be construed as anylimitation on the implementation processes of the embodiments of thedisclosure.

A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that in combinationwith the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in thedisclosure, units and algorithm steps may be implemented by electronichardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware.Whether the functions are performed by hardware or software depends onparticular applications and design constraint conditions of thetechnical solutions. A person skilled in the art may use differentmethods to implement the described functions for each particularapplication, but it should not be considered that the implementationgoes beyond the scope of the disclosure.

It may be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art that for thepurpose of convenient and brief description, for a detailed workingprocess of the foregoing system, apparatus, and unit, reference may bemade to a corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, anddetails are not described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, itshould be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and methodmay be implemented in other manners. For example, the describedapparatus embodiment is merely exemplary. For example, the unit divisionis merely logical function division and may be other division in actualimplementation. For example, a plurality of units or components may becombined or integrated into another system, or some features may beignored or not performed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutualcouplings or direct couplings or communication connections may beimplemented through some interfaces. The indirect couplings orcommunication connections between the apparatuses or units may beimplemented in electronic, mechanical, or other forms.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physicallyseparate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units,may be located in one position, or may be distributed on a plurality ofnetwork units. Some or all of the units may be selected according toactual needs to achieve the objectives of the solutions of theembodiments.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the disclosure maybe integrated into one processing unit, or each of the units may existalone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.

When the functions are implemented in the form of a software functionalunit and sold or used as an independent product, the functions may bestored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such anunderstanding, the technical solutions of the disclosure essentially, orthe part contributing to the prior art, or some of the technicalsolutions may be implemented in a form of a software product. Thesoftware product is stored in a storage medium and includes severalinstructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personalcomputer, a server, or a network device) to perform all or some of theoperations of the methods described in the embodiments of thedisclosure. The foregoing storage medium includes any medium that canstore program code, such as a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive, aremovable hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disc.

The foregoing descriptions are merely implementation manners of thedisclosure but are not intended to limit the scope of protection of thedisclosure. Any variation or replacement readily figured out by a personskilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in thedisclosure shall fall within the scope of protection of the disclosure.Therefore, the scope of protection of the disclosure shall be subject tothe scope of protection of the claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for transmitting a pilot signal,comprising: receiving, by a terminal device, indication information forindicating a plurality of pilot patterns; receiving, by the terminaldevice, pilot pattern configuration information indicated by firstDownlink Control Information (DCI) for scheduling data transmitted on atime-domain resource same as the time-domain resource transmitting thepilot signal; determining, by the terminal device, a first pilot patternfrom the plurality of pilot patterns according to the pilot patternconfiguration information indicated by the first DCI; determining, bythe terminal device according to the first pilot pattern, atime-frequency resource for transmitting the pilot signal; and sendingor receiving, by the terminal device, the pilot signal on thetime-frequency resource.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the pluralityof pilot patterns are provided with different pilot resource densities,and the pilot resource densities comprise at least one of a time-domainresource density or a frequency-domain resource density.
 3. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: before determining, by the terminaldevice, the first pilot pattern from the plurality of pilot patternsaccording to the pilot pattern configuration information indicated bythe first DCI, reporting, by the terminal device, movement speedestimation value information, wherein the movement speed estimationvalue information is configured for a network side device to determinethe pilot pattern configuration information.
 4. The method of claim 1,further comprising: after determining, by the terminal device, the firstpilot pattern from the plurality of pilot patterns, reporting, by theterminal device, information of the first pilot pattern.
 5. The methodof claim 1, wherein the plurality of pilot patterns comprise a zeropilot pattern, the zero pilot pattern indicating that no time-frequencyresource is used for transmitting the pilot signal.
 6. A method fortransmitting a pilot signal, comprising: sending, by a network sidedevice, indication information for indicating a plurality of pilotpatterns; determining, by the network side device, a first pilot patternfrom the plurality of pilot patterns; sending, by the network sidedevice, pilot pattern configuration information indicated by firstDownlink Control Information (DCI) for scheduling data transmitted on atime-domain resource same as the time-domain resource transmitting thepilot signal, the pilot pattern configuration information beingconfigured for a terminal device to determine the first pilot patternfrom the plurality of pilot patterns; determining, by the network sidedevice according to the first pilot pattern, a time-frequency resourcefor transmitting the pilot signal; and sending or receiving, by thenetwork side device, the pilot signal on the time-frequency resource. 7.The method of claim 6, wherein the plurality of pilot patterns areprovided with different pilot resource densities; and the pilot resourcedensities comprise at least one of a time-domain resource density or afrequency-domain resource density.
 8. The method of claim 6, furthercomprising: receiving, by the network side device, movement speedestimation value information; wherein determining, by the network sidedevice, the first pilot pattern from the plurality of pilot patternscomprises: determining, by the network side device, the first pilotpattern from the plurality of pilot patterns according to the movementspeed estimation value information.
 9. The method of claim 6, furthercomprising: receiving, by the network side device, information of thefirst pilot pattern.
 10. The method of claim 6, wherein the plurality ofpilot patterns comprise a zero pilot pattern, the zero pilot patternindicating that no time-frequency resource is used for transmitting thepilot signal.
 11. A terminal device, comprising: a network interface; aprocessor, and a memory storing instructions, when executed by theprocessor, cause the processor to: receive, through the networkinterface, indication information for indicating a plurality of pilotpatterns; receive, through the network interface, pilot patternconfiguration information indicated by first Downlink ControlInformation (DCI) for scheduling data transmitted on a time-domainresource same as the time-domain resource transmitting the pilot signal;determine a first pilot pattern from the plurality of pilot patternsaccording to the pilot pattern configuration information indicated bythe first DCI; determine, according to the first pilot pattern, atime-frequency resource for transmitting a pilot signal; and send orreceive, through the network interface, the pilot signal on thetime-frequency resource.
 12. The terminal device of claim 11, whereinthe plurality of pilot patterns are provided with different pilotresource densities; and the pilot resource densities comprise at leastone of a time-domain resource density or a frequency-domain resourcedensity.
 13. The terminal device of claim 11, wherein the processor isfurther configured to: report, through the network interface, movementspeed estimation value information, wherein the movement speedestimation value information is configured for a network side device todetermine the pilot pattern configuration information.
 14. The terminaldevice of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to:report, through the network interface, information of the first pilotpattern.
 15. The terminal device of claim 11, wherein the plurality ofpilot patterns comprise a zero pilot pattern, the zero pilot patternindicating that no time-frequency resource is used for transmitting thepilot signal.